Immich vs Nextcloud Photos
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Immich
High-performance self-hosted photo and video backup
VS
Nextcloud Photos
Photo timeline and album app for Nextcloud
| Feature | Immich | Nextcloud Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 114,920 | ★ 721 |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | Google Photos, iCloud Photos |
What are Immich and Nextcloud Photos?
Immich
Immich is a high-performance, self-hosted photo and video backup solution with mobile apps, AI search, and face recognition. It targets users wanting a private Google Photos alternative. It is deployed via Docker Compose.
- Automatic phone backup
- AI-powered search and face recognition
- Timeline and album views
- Multi-user with sharing
Nextcloud Photos
Nextcloud Photos is the official photo management app for Nextcloud, offering a timeline view, albums, and tagging of images stored in your Nextcloud. It works alongside file sync to provide a self-hosted photo experience.
- Timeline photo view
- Albums and tagging
- Nextcloud integration
- Mobile auto-upload
Immich vs Nextcloud Photos: key differences
Immich is written in TypeScript, while Nextcloud Photos is built with JavaScript. Nextcloud Photos is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Immich. Nextcloud Photos is the more established project (first released 2020), while Immich arrived in 2022. Immich has the considerably larger community, at 114,920 GitHub stars versus 721.
Why pick each one
Choose Immich if…
- Excellent mobile apps
- Fast and feature-rich
- Very active development
Watch out for
- Resource intensive
- Breaking changes still occur
Choose Nextcloud Photos if…
- Leverages existing Nextcloud
- Official app
Watch out for
- Requires Nextcloud
- Fewer AI features than Memories
Frequently asked questions
Is Immich or Nextcloud Photos better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Immich and Nextcloud Photos free and open-source?
Yes. Immich is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Nextcloud Photos under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Immich and Nextcloud Photos with Docker?
Immich: yes. Nextcloud Photos: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Immich or Nextcloud Photos?
Nextcloud Photos has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Immich. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.